NCT04077619

Shifting Away From Pain: a Neurocognitive Approach in Treatment of Whiplash

Shifting Away From Pain: Neurocognitive Approach to Explain and Predict the Response to the Modern Neuroscience Approach for Treating Patients With Whiplash Associated Disorders

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 95 (actual)
• Sponsor: University Ghent · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The broad aim of this study is to investigate the effect of a modern neuroscience approach, which combines education on pain neuroscience with cognition-targeted exercise therapy and stress management, on brain structure and networks in patients with chronic whiplash-associated disorders (CWAD) in comparison to a control physiotherapy treatment.

Detailed description

This project runs in parallel to a larger randomized-controlled trial (RCT) in which the 'modern neuroscience approach to WAD' is compared to usual care evidence-based physiotherapy (clinical trial registration number: NCT03239938). For the current study, additional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures will be taken in a subsample of patients, who will be recruited from this larger RCT. In addition, a pain-free age- and sex-matched control group will be recruited for comparison. The current study consists of 2 MRI measurements that will take place at the University Hospital of Ghent (UZ Gent): baseline (pre-treatment) and follow-up (post-treatment; approximately 16 weeks after baseline). After pre-treatment assessment, the patients will be randomly allocated to the modern neuroscience approach or usual care physiotherapy, as part of the RCT.

Conditions

• Whiplash Injuries

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Modern pain neuroscience approach	Modern pain neuroscience approach. The modern pain neuroscience approach includes 3 sessions (1 group and 2 individual sessions) of therapeutic pain neuroscience education followed by 15 individual sessions of dynamic and functional cognition-targeted exercise therapy and stress management techniques. In addition, participants will be instructed to perform a daily set of home exercises. The exercises will be performed in a time-contingent way. The 18 sessions will be spread over a period of 16 weeks.
BEHAVIORAL	Usual care physiotherapy	Usual care evidence-based physiotherapy The usual care evidence-based physiotherapy includes 3 sessions (1 group and 2 individual sessions) of neck school followed by 15 individual sessions of graded and active exercise therapy focusing on strength, flexibility, endurance, and ergonomic principles. In addition, participants will be instructed to perform a daily set of home exercises. The exercises will be performed in a symptom-contingent way. The 18 sessions will be spread over a period of 16 weeks.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-09-04
• Primary completion: 2022-10-01
• Completion: 2022-10-01
• First posted: 2019-09-04
• Last updated: 2022-11-15

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Belgium